We always try our best to challenge your artistic abilities and produce some interesting, beautiful and creative artwork. And as designers we usually turn to different sources of inspiration. As a matter of fact, we’ve discovered the best one — desktop wallpapers that are a little more distinctive than the usual crowd. This creativity mission has been going on for over two years now, and we are very thankful to all designers who have contributed and are still diligently contributing each month.
We continue to nourish you with a monthly spoon of inspiration. This post features 20 free desktop wallpapers created by artists across the globe for January 2012. Both versions with a calendar and without a calendar can be downloaded for free. It’s time to freshen up your wallpaper!
Please note that:
- All images can be clicked on and lead to the preview of the wallpaper,
- You can feature your work in our magazine by taking part in our Desktop Wallpaper Calendar series. We are regularly looking for creative designers and artists to be featured on Smashing Magazine. Are you one of them?
A New Ending
“Wishing everyone a lucky and successful year 2012!” Designed by Lina Itskovitch from USA.
- preview
- with calendar: 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
- without calendar: 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
Red
“Photo taken at a friend’s house with one of her toys and my glass of rose wine. It’s perfect for a cold winter day, warmth for the soul and body.” Designed by Diana Samoila from Romania.
- preview
- with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
- without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
Caucasian Mountains
“From Caucasus with love!” Designed by Ilona from Russia.
- preview
- with calendar: 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
- without calendar: 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
Bloody January
“Something to cure that New Year’s hangover.” Designed by Suety Kwan from USA.
- preview
- with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
- without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1200, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
Back To Go To Work
Designed by Forsaken from France.
- preview
- with calendar: 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
- without calendar: 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
Royal World
“Our first submission to the Desktop Wallpapers. To start a great new year, we designed a world that represents our goals and aspirations for this new year.” Designed by Javier Castillo from Guatemala.
- preview
- with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
- without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
Winter Melancholy
Designed by Aleksandra Laczek from Poland.
- preview
- with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
- without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
The Year Of Dragon
“Dragon is the legendary animal in the Chinese zodiac calendar.” Designed by Cheloveche.ru from Russia.
- preview
- with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
- without calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200
Resolution Libs
“It’s time for New Year’s resolutions! And the best way to keep them is by writing them down and keeping track of your progress. So this wallpaper is a recreation of the chalkboard in my house.” Designed by Illuum Design Team from Canada.
- preview
- with calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
- without calendar: 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
Carry Warmth Carry Each Other
Designed by Marika Smirnova From “oblako Studio” from Russia.
- preview
- with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
- without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
What’s On Your Mind?
“Sometimes it seems that girls are from another planet. I just can’t figure out, whats going on in their heads…” Designed by Kristjan Ait from Estonia.
- preview
- with calendar: 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
- without calendar: 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
Facts
“I was reminded of a simple fact while I was browsing for inspiration for this wallpaper. I’ve read on Wikipedia that January is the coldest month on most of the northern hemisphere and the hottest one on most of the southern hemisphere. I found it fascinating that someone in Australia is enjoying a surf while I am watching the first snowflakes of the winter. I was hoping to create a wallpaper that will serve as a reminder of the fact that we live in a fascinating world full of varieties and contrasts. The old-worn-out-encyclopedia style hopefully emphasizes the educational theme of the wallpaper :).” Designed by Danijel Gajan from Serbia.
- preview
- with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
- without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
Memorize Me
“This calendar has 4 sheets. Each sheet shows 4 months.The Sundays of these 4 months are colored in the order of the rainbow colors.If you commit these columns to memory, you won’t need to resort to any pocket calendar or electronic device to know when the next holiday is, to know the date of the first Monday of the next month….” Designed by Araz Kelian from Lebanon.
- preview
- with calendar: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×1024, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440
Soft Wishes
“Let yourself be carried away by the delicate desires of your heart…” Designed by Katia Piccinni from Italy.
- preview
- with calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×900
- without calendar: 320×480, 640×480, 800×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1152×864, 1280×720, 1280×800, 1280×960, 1280×1024, 1400×900
Bonsai
Designed by Marta Miazek from Poland.
- preview
- with calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1600×1200, 1920×1440
- without calendar: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1400×1050, 1600×1200, 1920×1440
Owl
“The first month of phpfaber’s calendar for 2012 with our hero Owl.” Designed by Katerina Bobkova from Ukraine.
- preview
- with calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080
- without calendar: 320×480, 1024×768, 1024×1024, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080
Join In Next Month!
Please note that we respect and carefully consider the ideas and motivation behind each and every artist’s work. This is why we give all artists the full freedom to explore their creativity and express emotions and experience throughout their works. This is also why the themes of the wallpapers weren’t anyhow influenced by us, but rather designed from scratch by the artists themselves.
A big thank you to all designers for their participation. Join in next month!
What’s Your Favourite?
What’s your favorite theme or wallpaper for this month? Please let us know in the comment section below! And Happy New Year 2012!
(il) (vf)